Kirkwood School District

Poverty Service-Learning Project Ideas

INDIRECT PROJECT IDEAS

• Make holiday placemats or holiday ornaments for a homeless shelter in the area.  When students have completed the project, someone from the local shelter would come to pick up what the students have made and discuss the importance of the project with the students.
   
• KidSmart - KidSmart is an area nonprofit group.  It provides school supplies for children who might not otherwise be able to get them.  They also provide supplies for teacher's classrooms.  KidSmart needs donations of school and teaching supplies.  In order to see what they need, visit www.agift4teaching.org
   
• Organize a book drive.  Students can donate new or used books, and also books which they have made themselves, to the drive.  The books collected in the drive can be donated to a local crisis center or to a homeless shelter in the area.
   
• Put together housewarming packages for families moving from shelters to permanent housing.
   
• Assemble infant care packages for low income or teen mothers.
   
• Collect old, unused eyeglasses and donate them to a local shelter.  Set up a donation site at school so that the entire school, and the students' parents, can also contribute their donations.
   
• Carry out a Mittens and Hats drive.  This drive can be done school-wide.  Many local shelter do coat drives, but very few receive mittens and gloves to go with the coats.  The students can focus their drive on mittens and hats for younger children, but should not reject other-sized gloves.
   
• Organize a benefit sporting event between students and teachers.  Use funds raised to purchase sports equipment for a local shelter.
   
• Develop a partnership with one low-income preschool.  Each month make birthday cards and gifts for preschool children celebrating birthdays.
   
• First Book - This organization donates books to underpriveleged children.  Visit www.firstbook.org to find out how your group can help raise money for this cause.

DIRECT PROJECT IDEAS

• Help build or renovate housing through Habitat for Humanity.  See the website, www.habitat.org for more ideas on how you can help!  Find the drop-down menu for "Get Involved."
   
• Hold a story hour at a local Headstart preschool or shelter.
   
• Set up a book corner for children and adults at a shelter.
   
• Clean up around a local low-income housing project, shelter or playground.  Since paint and supplies would be needed, organize a fund-raiser or write to local companies to request donations of supplies.
   
• Arrange a Game Night for people at a local shelter.  Students organize a Game Drive at their school in which they collect new or gently used games.  Students could come to the shelter and help carry out the program or just donate the games.
   
• Make class quilts to donate to shelters.  Students could do a fund-raiser to buy the materials needed and/or write to local stores to help donate the items for the quilts.  The shelter can either recommend specific families who they know could use the blankets or they can be donated to the shelter itself.

ADVOCACY PROJECT IDEAS

• Collect names on a petition to increase the number of shelters for the homeless in the area.  Deliver the petition to a community leader, such as the mayor or a city council member.
   
• Create posters, fliers, bulletin boards, or write letters to the editor of the local paper to increase awareness in the school and the community about the needs of the homeless in the area.
   
• Make bookmarks with the names and phone numbers of agencies serving people who live in poverty.  Distribute through schools, churches, libraries, neighborhood centers, and grocery stores.
   
• Conduct a demographic and economic impact study of those who are homeless.  Publicize the findings through local media.
   
• Write letters to senators or representatives about the need for low income housing in the area.
   
• Write to libraries about purchasing books that focus on the issues of poverty and hunger.  Students should explain in their letters why they think these books would help children learn about homeless and poor people, and ways everyone can help.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Brainstorm what living "at the poverty level" might mean on a day to day basis.  Would geographic location have an impact on what is considered poverty?  What might determine how a person views their own absolute minimum basic needs.  Complete an international project from the website list.
   
• Prepare a panel discussion on what role the government and/or individuals should take in alleviating the conditions of poverty and homelessness.  Share your thoughts with a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
   
• Discuss the differences between, and reasons for, unemployment and underemployment.  Share your thoughts with a letter to your local senator or representative.
   
• Write to local and state legislators to find out their views on homelessness and poverty.

LANGUAGE ARTS/READING

• Write letters to the editor or state legislators with your views on poverty.
   
• Create and publish student-made books to donate to a shelter.
   
• Tape record a book for younger children to "read" at a shelter.
   
• Write skits and prepare speeches to publicize the project.
   
• Write letters to city officials to raise their awareness of issues related to poverty.
   
• Interview a homeless person and write a story about his/her life.
   
• Tutor younger children from a shelter, or those recommended by any of the agencies who work with these families, in reading and writing skills.
   
• Set up a reading center at a local shelter.
   
• Write poems about the issues of poverty.  Publish them in some way.

MATH

• Estimate amount of fabric or other material necessary for making a quilt or blanket.  Figure the dimensions and cost.  Make a blanket or quilt for a homeless shelter.
   
• Have a fund-raiser and start a bank account with the money raised.  Figure interest rates on the balance.  Use the money for a project.
   
• Buy bulk toiletries for a shelter.  Measure and fill smaller containers.  Estimate the cost of supplies and determine cost efficiency.
   
• Discuss the difficulties a family might experience living on a minimum wage.  Plan a weekly budget.  Plan a project to help.
   
• Collect data on the numbers of homeless people in your community or state, their ages, former occupations, etc.  Develop a chart of this information to share with your school.
   
• Tutor children at a shelter on math.
   
• Reflect on tax refund money and how it might be better spent.  Make posters or write letters.

SCIENCE

• Discuss the effects of a natural disaster (earthquakes, floods, droughts) on those who are homeless or living at the poverty level.  Complete a project with the Red Cross relief effort.
   
• Prepare toiletry kits for a local shelter.
   
• Research and discuss the relationship between substance abuse and poverty/homelessness.  Publish results for the school or present lessons for another grade level or class.
   
• Brainstorm: If your family was living in your car, where would you brush your teeth or take a shower?  How would you cook meals or keep food from spoiling?  Would your options vary depending on climate, season or a rural versus an urban environment?  Develop a project from the list of websites.
   
• Research health care resources for low-income individuals.  What effect does part-time employment (with no benefits) have on a family's or individual's health care resources?  Write a letter to a city or state official.
   
• What are the most common health problems of poor or homeless people?  Are the problems related to diet, environment, or other factors?  Write a report on your findings to share.
   
• Help shelter volunteers work up a health seminar for residents.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

• Discuss how/if being a foreigner is related to poverty.
   
• Create posters that translate common signs and signals or create a pamphlet to help those in poverty.
   
• Offer to help those at a shelter who speak a foreign language by translating and/or teaching English.
   
• Advocate for the need for ESL training in schools.

FINE ARTS

• Create a display or bulletin board for a central location in your school or public library.
   
• Make thank you cards for those who help with the project you choose.
   
• Make birthday cards for children at a shelter.
   
• Prepare a video documenting a project to show on the local cable station or over the school's video system.
   
• Make a mural for a shelter or agency. (or create art objects for decorating a shelter)
   
• Perform skits, songs or plays about needs in the community for other classes or the P.T.O.
   
• Put on a "change" concert and donate proceeds to a shelter.
   
• Perform at a local shelter.

INDUSTRIAL ARTS/TECHNOLOGY

• Learn some basic carpentry and home repair skills.  How would having these skills help you or someone else live on a smaller income?  Build something for a local shelter or agency to use.
   
• Help fix up a local shelter and do maintenance repairs.
   
• Use the computer to develop a newsletter, article, or essay focusing on issues related to hunger and poverty.
   
• Create a photo display to illustrate the effects of homelessness and poverty.  Put up in the school or at a community site.